


A General’s Responsibility

by BigFatBumblebee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Bant is a babe, Dad!Obi-Wan Kenobi, Distinct lack of plot, F/M, Gen, Obi-Wan Kenobi is so awkward, Short & Sweet, Waxer's in love and looking for advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 18:39:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20196235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigFatBumblebee/pseuds/BigFatBumblebee
Summary: High General Obi-Wan Kenobi takes his duty of care to his troops very seriously even if it leads to awkward, and slightly traumatic, conversations. One evening, Waxer needs a bit of advice.





	A General’s Responsibility

It was late when Obi-Wan Kenobi ambled slowly down the mostly empty hallways of the Negotiator. It had been a good day, they’d had one small skirmish with a lone separatist ship (no doubt a scout for a larger fleet, but they would be long gone by the time it limped back and reported in) and he had just come off a holocall, successfully brokering a peace with two leaders of different factions on a warring moon in the middle rim. He felt closer to peace than he had in years. A feeling that deserved a celebratory drink in the quiet of his rooms.

He rounded the corner nearing his quarters and paused when he felt a familiar presence. Loitering in the hallway outside his door was Waxer, leaning on the wall presumably doing his best to look nonchalant, but fidgeting and leaking nervousness in to the force. _Ah there goes that drink_ the Jedi Master thought wryly.

“Waxer, what can I do for you?” he asked, approaching the trooper with a cheerful greeting, who immediately stood to attention at the sight of his General. Obi-Wan waved a hand dismissively. He understood it was a sign of respect, but it did so annoy him when they did that.

“General” Waxer replied quickly, looking at him. And then continued to stand there looking at him. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows expectantly. 

“Waxer, is everything alright?” he asked gently. The usually cheerful trooper was giving off very worrying body language, tense and nervous and struggling to look his General in the eye.

“Um…yes General I just er…I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice” Waxer finally ground out, managing to look Obi-Wan in the face. The Jedi Master immediately felt himself panic ever so slightly. ‘_Oh force what’s he done?’_ Scenarios started to fill his head; trouble with the law? Mental health issues? Could it be a gambling problem?_ ‘Oh kark what if he’s killed somebody?’_ he thought somewhat hysterically.

“Of course, Waxer, you can talk to me about anything.” Managing to keep his usual mask of calm Jedi serenity he nodded encouragingly and gestured to the door, steering the Clone inside his rooms. Bracing himself he sat down on the uncomfortable padded bench and gestured for Waxer to take the chair nearby.

“How can I help?” He asked again. Seemingly a little more comfortable, the trooper took a breath and rubbed his hands on his thighs.

“Well General, er…I think I’ve fallen in love and I don’t know what to do about it” he said quickly, looking almost shy. Obi-Wan allowed his surprise to show on his face. Of all the things in the galaxy he had not expected this.

“Oh” he said letting out a little huff of relief and relaxing in to the sofa a bit. “Oh that’s great Waxer I’m very happy for you” he said, unbelievably glad it wasn’t something more serious and smiling a bit. Waxer frowned a little though.

“Yes General but I don’t know what to do about it!” he said desperately “I’m pretty sure she loves me back, but I don’t know how to do a relationship or what to do next” he said, frustrated his General wasn’t getting the point. Obi-Wan felt himself tense up again at where he thought this might be going. _Oh force he was not ready for this!_

“Oh” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “Well...Waxer you know I might not be the best person for this sort of thing. Jedi don’t have relationships” he said slowly, pleading with the force for Waxer to get the message. Waxer, however, only nodded.

“Yes I know General, but you’re really good with people and you must have more experience with this than a brother” he said, turning big brown eyes on him pleadingly. Obi-Wan cringed inwardly. This really wasn’t his area of expertise, but his faithful trooper was asking for help and Obi-Wan owed it to him to try. He sighed.

“Well…I suppose I can try” he nodded at the trooper awkwardly. He paused. “Would you like to tell me who she is?” he asked, though he had a good inkling. Waxer had spent a lot of time with the recently liberated Twi’lek’s on Ryloth. The clone smiled and nodded.

“Yeah she was one of the Twi’lek’s on Ryloth, Aran, she’s great” he said, smiling widely. Obi-Wan felt himself soften a little at the young man’s happiness. Force knows he deserved it. “We talk all the time and we’re going to be near Ryloth again next week and I’m taking her out” the Clone finished, his grin widening.

“I see” Obi-Wan thought for a moment. “it sounds like it’s going well, I’m pleased for you” he said again with a smile.

“Thanks General, but what do I _do_?” he asked again desperately. The Jedi sighed. This was so far outside of his comfort zone.

“Well…there’s not really a set of rules for this sort of thing Waxer, you’re possibly making it harder than it needs to be” Obi-Wan paused as the younger man looked at him expectantly. He thought of all the couples he knew, Bail and Breha sprung to mind.

“I think the key to a good and healthy relationship is communication, and trust.” He thought for a moment. “You have to be honest with each other, and always be yourself.” Warming to the topic he continued. “It sounds like your next move is just to explain your position to Aran, so she knows it’s all new to you and you can work things out together. Every relationship and couple is different. To hide things from her would be disrespectful and she would find out eventually.” He smiled at his trooper. “If Aran has a problem with it then she’s not right for you, but you need to be fair and give her all the information before starting anything” he said. “It’s rather scary I should imagine, but I’m sure it will be worth it” he said finally, rather proud he’d managed something coherent.

Waxer looked thoughtful for a moment, seemingly processing the information. Then giving his trademark grin he nodded at his General.

“Thanks General, that helps. I’ll just tell her all the facts and then see what she wants to do.” He got to his feet and made for the door. “Sorry for disturbing you Sir” he paused and looked away awkwardly again “if we could…keep this between us I'd appreciate it” he said unsurely. Obi-Wan laughed

“Of course Waxer, I hope it goes well” he said as Waxer nodded gratefully turning to go. The Jedi Master stopped in his tracks when a sudden thought occurred to him. _Oh force was he really doing this?_ He cringed inwardly.

“Waxer wait” he paused, choosing his next words carefully. The trooper stopped and looked at his General in surprise, no doubt taken aback by his uncharacteristic dithering.

“Are you clear on the…” he waved his hand in the air in an awkward jerky gesture, searching for a word. “Biological…side of things? The, ah, mechanics of the whole thing?” he finished, cursing inwardly as he felt the tips of his ears go red.

Waxer, for his part, looked just as uncomfortable when understanding dawned.

“Oh, er… yes General the physical side was part of our education on Kamino” he nodded giving a reassuring smile at his General. Obi-Wan exhaled loudly in relief.

“Oh good.” He paused again, another thought. _In for a dip in for a dive I suppose_ “and do you have access to the necessary…preventative equipment?” He cringed inwardly in dismay, hearing the words leave his mouth. ‘_Contraception’ Kenobi, how hard is that to say? You’re a Jedi Master for god’s sake._

Waxer was starting to look mildly amused at his General’s discomfort. _Bastard._

“Affirmative General, Kix has sorted us out you don’t need to worry about any accidents” he said with a smirk.

“Oh good” Obi-Wan resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair, desperately clinging on to his Jedi serenity. “And you know…you shouldn’t feel…pressured to do anything you aren’t comfortable with, or rush in to anything.” He took a breath. “Sex” _there, he said it_ “should be with someone you trust, when you’re happy and ready.”

His topper stared at him for a moment.

“Yes General. Understood”. Obi-Wan released a long breath.

“Good.” He smiled in relief. Opening the door he nodded at Waxer in a clear dismissal.

“Have a good evening General, try and get some sleep” he instructed. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. His troopers were such mother hens.

“Goodnight Waxer” he said, closing the door he flattened his back against it, slumping in relief he scrubbed a hand down his face. He wondered if anybody would hear if he yelled in to his pillow. Force he needed that drink.

Wobbling over to the drawer he withdrew a bottle of his favorite whisky, a recent lifeday gift from Bant, and grabbed a mug from the side.

Sitting at his small table he had a sudden flash back to his youth, and the less than helpful conversation he had had with Qui-Gon:

“Having sex is perfectly natural Padawan, but always have it with someone you trust. If that’s a male, preparation is everything. If they’re female, it’s ladies first.” And with that he had thrust a box of contraception into Obi-Wan’s hand and left his blushing apprentice speechless in the kitchen. Thank force for Quinlan Vos and his level of expert knowledge.

Covering the topic with Anakin had been one of the most uncomfortable conversations of his life. Naturally inquisitive, with none of his Master’s prudishness, he had many…imaginative questions. It had been a very awkward 10 minutes for Obi-Wan, but at least Anakin’s understanding of what the force was capable of had deepened, he supposed. Though he was fairly sure once they got past the exciting bits the important stuff didn’t really sink in. He just hoped there weren’t any mini-Skywalkers somewhere in the galaxy.

Shaking his head and cursing his force forsaken sense of prudishness he pulled out his communicator, this called for backup. A moment later he smiled fondly when Bant’s wobbly blue image appeared in front of him.

“Obi-Wan? Hello! It’s so lovely to hear from you!” she greeted with her usual level of cheerful enthusiasm.

“Bant thank gods” he sagged in relief at the sight of his best friend. Dear, sweet Bant who always knew what to say.

“Obi-Wan are you alright?” she asked, concerned.

“…difficult to say” he took another sip of his drink. Bant’s round eyes grew somehow larger.

“Force what’s happened Obi?” she said urgently.

“I accidentally gave the sex talk to Waxer” he blurted out, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. Bant stared at him.

“Pardon?” she blinked.

“One of my troopers, ugh, he came for advice and it…got away from me somewhat” he admitted, glaring at her as she started smiling.

“What…how in the galaxy did you ‘accidentally’ give the sex talk?” she asked, openly laughing at him now.

“I don’t know!” (he certainly didn’t wail, he was a Jedi Master). “He’s fallen in love with someone and he came to me to talk about it.” He paused. “And the conversation rather took a turn” he said pathetically. Bant continued laughing.

“Oh shut up” he said moodily.

“Oh Obi!” she said in between giggles

“Bant! I could do with a little support here!” he snapped.

“Sorry, at least you can’t have done a worse job than Qui-Gon” she offered. That was true, he thought, glaring some more. She managed to pull herself together.

“Right, sorry. So your trooper has found someone special? That’s lovely” she said, characteristically sweet.

“Yes I suppose” he agreed, “but what if he gets in over his head? What if she takes advantage of him? Or breaks his heart? He’s so unprepared for this!” He said desperately.

Bant looked at him pityingly.

“Obi-Wan, sweets, you need to let go a little. They are fully grown adults, and they aren’t stupid. They need to experience the galaxy for themselves. And if it all goes wrong at least they have their brothers and us to pick up the pieces, but heartache is part of life” She said gently. Obi-Wan knew she had a point. It was just so hard not to feel over protective. His troops were his responsibility.

“But they’re so young” he sighed. She paused and then grinned.

“Well, they’re old enough to be doing the nasty” she said, successfully steering the conversation away from potentially heavy topics.

“Bant!” Obi-Wan nearly choked on his sip of whisky. She laughed at him.

“Speaking of which, you're old enough too you know. Do make time for yourself Obi you look stressed.” She said concerned. He shook his head, he was not going to have this conversation and she knew it. His sex life, or lack thereof, was not up for debate. She sighed and he heard someone call her name on her end. 

“Well, as amusing as this conversation has been, I’m afraid I have to go” she said sadly. 

“Never mind, thanks Bant” he said softly. She looked at him appraisingly.

“Look after yourself Obi-Wan.” She narrowed her eyes “that means get some sleep and eat something. Preferably vegetables and some protein” He rolled his eyes again. “You can’t exist on the force alone you know." She paused and grinned mischievously "and if you feel like dishing out any more wisdom I'm sure I can find a group of junior Padawans due for their Health & Hygiene lecture" 

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he said pointedly. She smiled, waved and terminated the transmission.

He took another sip of whisky, looking at the spot the image of his friend had been occupying. He missed her, and home, and all his friends. Force only knows where Garen and Reeft were at the moment, he hadn’t been keeping track of them recently. He made a mental note to look them up at the next available opportunity, they’d both get a real kick out of his awkward situation. He smiled at the thought. 

For now though, he would take Bant’s advice. Downing the rest of his whisky he shook his head and got to his feet. He managed to shake off his boots, belt and outer robe before flopping face down on to the cot in the corner. He lay there considering for a moment that, as risky as it was, at least there was a little more love in the Galaxy.

‘_Oh shut up Kenobi you old sap’ _he thought finally before he sank in to well deserved sleep.


End file.
